Rwandan duo Joshua Muhire and Etienne Niyigena were eliminated from the 2024 Rwanda Open M25 after losing round of 32 matches to their American opponents Pranav Kumar and Preston Brown respectively on Wednesday.

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Playing before the home crowd did not prove much of an advantage for Muhire who fell short against Kumar in straight sets 0-6, 1-6.

In another match, Niyigena fought hard to beat Brown in a tight game but the Americn ended his hopes of become the first Rwanda to go through the next round after, winning the match 7-5, 6-2.

The hosts’ woes continued in doubles category as Muhire and Gift Ivan Ngarambe crashed out of Round of 16 after losing 6-2, 6-3 to Petr Iamachkine (Peru) and Manuel Plunger (Italy).

Their counterparts David Manzi Rwamucyo and Emmanuel Imanishimwe were knocked out of the same round following defeat to Lock brothers, Benjamin and Courtney, in two sets 6-2, 6-0. In what is rated as the shock of the day, Benjamin, who was among tournament favourites, crashes out after a 6-4, 6-4 Round of 32 loss to India’s Adil Kalyanpur.

He had reached the semifinals in the second week of the 2023 Rwanda Open M25 edition.

Elsewhere, France's Corentin Denolly advanced to the next round with a straight-sets victory over India’s Sai Reddy Ganta. The Frenchman, who won Rwanda Open M25 week 2 in 2023, secured the win in two sets 7-5, 6-3, proving his worth as one of the tournament's top contenders.

The tournament, part of the ITF World Tennis Tour, continues through the week, with a prize pool of $25,000.

The event will run for two weeks, with the first week set to conclude on September 29. The second week will start on September 30 and will run through October 6.